Yamaha Silent Piano

[Eric Leatha]

>Recently I was called to service a Yamaha Silent Piano, and when I asked
>if the woman had had any problems with the piano, she mentioned that she
>found that it missed notes on a soft blow, and she didn't feel that she
>had the control she might like.
>
>These pianos are apparently intended to have a letoff distance of 6-8 mm
>(1/4 inch or so), in order to allow the silent function to operate
>correctly.  This obviously will create the problems this woman has,
>without leaving me any way to correct it.
>
>If I tell her that the piano is not capable of being properly regulated,
>neither she, the dealer, or Yamaha will be very happy, yet that seems to
>be the bottom line here.  It seems to me that if there is a performance
>issue related to this "silent" thing, it would be better to tell the
>customer up front of the trade offs involved, rather than wait for a
>problem to develop.
>
>Has anyone had this situation arise?  Suggestions?
>
>
>
>Charles Farinella, RPT
>-----------------------------------------------------------
>c_farinella@conknet.com
>-----------------------------------------------------------

Charles,

I do hope when you refer to letoff at 6-8mm, you are speaking of letoff
with the shank stopper apron engaged.  Letoff in "acoustic" mode is as most
Yamahas- 2mm.  That should be adequate for soft playing.
You might want to play the keys softly with the damper pedal depressed to
check for bobbling hammers.
If they bobble, try weakening the hammer butt springs by releasing the
spring from the cord, squeezing the two ends of the spring toward each
other slightly.  You may also try your spring regulating tool.  Once you
reengage the cord with the spring, it should flex the cord to its entire
length, if not you've gone too far.  Remember- they only need a minimum of
spring tension- too much keeps the butt in contact with the jack for the
full cycle and causes the bobble.

As far as the electronic or silent feature; all input is through the keys,
not the hammershanks.  If you have a problem with control you may need to
move the rail or consult Yamama on the varying velocity sensitivities
available (if at all).

I work on many of these pianos and I must tell you I have not heard this
complaint from a customer (maybe I should ask!).

Best of luck!


Eric Leatha, RPT
Portland, OR
tunrboy@teleport.com
"The Buddha, the Godhead, is just as at home in the circuits of a computer
or the action of piano as on the top of a mountain or the petals of a Lotus
flower."
-Robert Persig (freely interpreted by undersigned)